From a nobody online dating to a top love brain - Chapter 14

“It’s okay, don’t be scared, junior.” Hearing Pei Yunchuan’s screams, Yu Nan knew the scary part was coming, so he immediately closed his eyes and tried to comfort his junior.

Bei Yuye felt that this was actually nice and scooted closer to him. “Senior, this is so scary.”

He quietly wrapped his arm around Nan Nan’s arm and murmured, “Senior, I’m too scared to watch.

Yu Nan hadn’t expected his junior to be this frightened, so he whispered, “It’s okay, senior is too scared to watch too.”

“Ah! It’s coming out! Look, you guys, look!” Pei Yunchuan was fully engrossed, his mouth running non-stop.

Yu Nan watched the movie with his eyes closed, only opening them when Pei Yunchuan finally shut up.

This movie was really unsettling. The three of them kept watching without realizing the time, going from one movie to the next without a break.

“Ding-dong—”

The doorbell sound from the TV overlapped with the sound of the actual doorbell outside.

The three of them stared blankly at the door, but nothing happened.

Yu Nan definitely heard the bell, but he forced a laugh, trying to convince himself otherwise. “We must’ve misheard, haha.”

The movie continued, but the doorbell outside rang again.

Yu Nan’s heart pounded in his chest, as if it would jump right out of his throat. He instinctively clung tighter to his junior’s arm.

The doorbell kept ringing.

“What time is it?” Yu Nan asked, his voice trembling.

Pei Yunchuan lit up his phone screen, and the next second, the phone flew out of his hand. “It’s midnight!”

Yu Nan couldn’t stop shaking. “Is it really that late? Didn’t we start watching around noon?”

A scream echoed from the TV, blending with the persistent doorbell, as if urging them to their doom.

“Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, I have elders to care for and kids to raise!” Pei Yunchuan muttered, making random hand gestures as if casting a spell.

The movie was at its most intense, with jump scares of ghostly faces and mingled screams.

Yu Nan couldn’t bear it anymore. He picked up a pillow and stood up. “Don’t be afraid, junior, let’s go together.”

Pei Yunchuan continued his nonsensical chanting, “Bless my friends, they have elders to care for and kids to raise.”

“You come too,” Yu Nan said, pointing at Pei Yunchuan.

Pei Yunchuan clasped his hands together in prayer, closing his eyes and sincerely pleading, “Bless us all, we have elders to care for and kids to raise.”

The three of them huddled together, slowly moving toward the door.

Yu Nan and Pei Yunchuan shrank behind Bei Yuye, too scared to go any further.

Bei Yuye bravely stepped forward and peeked through the peephole, then, in shock, he opened the door.

He reached for the switch and turned on the living room light, flooding the room with brightness, making the dark-toned movie on the TV seem far less frightening.

He tossed the takeout bag to Pei Yunchuan. “Is this yours?”

The world suddenly went quiet.

“Uh, I was hungry earlier,” Pei Yunchuan said, blinking his eyes wide and trying to look pitiful to earn some sympathy.

He had completely forgotten about it and even put his phone on “Do Not Disturb” to avoid ruining the movie-watching atmosphere.

Yu Nan let out a sigh of relief. “That doorbell was like a death knell; it scared me to death.”

“This is so embarrassing.” Pei Yunchuan thought back to how terrified the three of them were and couldn’t help but laugh.

Yu Nan laughed too. “Let’s just keep the lights on while we watch.”

Pei Yunchuan took out the takeout and laid it out on the table in front of the sofa. “I ordered a ton of fried chicken and fries, come and eat.”

Watching horror movies requires a certain atmosphere, and when that atmosphere is gone, so is the scariness of the movie. For instance, right now, Yu Nan could even praise how clean the whites of the ghost’s eyes were, with no bloodshot at all.

They did a quick count of the movies they’d watched so far—this was the sixth one. The total runtime added up to about twelve hours, and because they’d kept the curtains closed since the afternoon, time had lost all meaning to them.

So, when the sudden doorbell rang, and it happened to be exactly midnight, it gave them all a good scare.

“I’m going to order some more food,” Yu Nan said, opening the delivery app. The tension from watching the movie had worn off, and now he was feeling hungry.

After ordering, he handed his phone to Milk tea. “Can you fill in the address for me?”

Once the order was placed, Yu Nan started to feel drowsy, yawning out of boredom.

“We still haven’t done today’s tasks. Hurry up and log in,” Pei Yunchuan suddenly remembered and reminded Yu Nan to log into the game.

Yu Nan tossed his phone to him. “I’ve seen other gaming partners help each other with tasks during meetups.”

“Where did you see that?” Pei Yunchuan asked.

Yu Nan chuckled. “From the moment you took my phone, I knew. There really are such good gaming partners out there.”

He was actually quite curious. Milk tea and his junior knew each other and even played the same type of games, so why were they playing different games? Wouldn’t it be better to play the same one together?

Yu Nan asked his junior, “Which playstyle do you use in the game?”

“It’s the Mounted Emperor build!” Pei Yunchuan raised his hand and answered eagerly.

Pei Yunchuan then started mimicking some actions. “I’ve played it for him before. With candied haws in hand, he’s unbeatable.”

Yu Nan asked, “Are you still playing that build?”

That build had been in a bad spot for quite a while.

Bei Yuye replied, “I’ve been playing it since the server launched, and since my damage is decent, I’ve just stuck with it.”

Yu Nan applauded, appreciating his good attitude.

“Enough about games, let’s talk about our plans,” Pei Yunchuan said as he continued to do in-game tasks.

“How about Silent Hill at the next comic convention?” His topic jumped around, speaking whatever came to mind.

They had just watched the movie today, so Yu Nan had a vivid memory of it. He laughed and asked, “What would you go as, the nurse?”

Pei Yunchuan thought for a moment and decided it wasn’t feasible, changing his mind. “Forget it, let’s save that for Halloween.”

Bei Yuye quietly sent a message to Nan Nan: “Baby, I miss you.”

Even though Pei Yunchuan and Nan Nan had only met in person recently, their six years of friendship made it feel completely natural, and Pei Yunchuan was determined to make his presence felt with Nan Nan.

“Your ‘baby’ sent a message,” Pei Yunchuan suddenly said while helping him with his tasks, as a notification popped up.

Bei Yuye smirked, feeling proud. Nan Nan hadn’t set his phone on “Do Not Disturb” for him; he must really care.

Yu Nan quickly took his phone back. “I’ll do the tasks myself.”

“Oh, getting shy now?” Pei Yunchuan teased.

Yu Nan ignored him and replied to Bei Bei’s message: “I miss you too.”

Bei Yuye grinned, typing back: “I love you so much, my dear.”

Seeing Yu Nan suddenly getting excited, Bei Yuye felt a sense of reality in their relationship. He realized that he really needed to make this relationship happen in real life, despite their different current thoughts.

Around 1:30 AM, after finishing their meal, the three of them parted ways and went back to their rooms.

But Yu Nan didn’t dare take a shower. He was a firm materialist, yet he was still scared of that moment when you close your eyes while washing your hair—especially since one of today’s movies had a ghost in the bathroom scene.

He messaged Milk tea: “Weren’t you going to discuss what to wear for the next comic con? Let’s decide tonight. Bring the junior over to my room, let’s settle it before we sleep.”

Sure enough, Milk tea took the bait: “It’s great that you’re so enthusiastic. I’m on my way.”

When the junior and Milk tea arrived at his room, Yu Nan picked up his clothes and went to shower, reminding them, “Don’t leave before I come out. I want to know the decision.”

Pei Yunchuan made an “OK” gesture, then nudged Bei Yuye. “Look how eager he is.”

Bei Yuye sensed something was off, very off. He messaged Nan Nan: “Baby, are you asleep?”

Yu Nan quickly replied: “About to shower. We watched horror movies all day, and I’m still a bit scared.”

He quickly added: “But it’s okay. I tricked two fools into staying outside.”

He burst out laughing; Pei Yunchuan was one of those fools.

Nan Nan was still scared, after all. Bei Yuye suggested: “Do you want to do a voice call?”

Nan Nan responded: “I can’t, I’m at someone else’s place. Maybe next time.”

Pei Yunchuan slapped Bei Yuye, who was laughing at his phone. “Got any suggestions? Stop playing with your phone.”

Bei Yuye found a cheerful song on his playlist, turned up the volume, and played it near the bathroom, guessing that Nan Nan could hear it inside.

Pei Yunchuan started dancing and singing along.

Hearing the terrible singing outside while he was showering, Yu Nan instantly felt less scared. After all, there’s a sense of security in numbers.

When he finished his shower and came out, the two hadn’t decided anything because Pei Yunchuan had been too busy singing.

He began ushering them out. “If you can’t decide, leave it for later. It’s late, let’s all get some sleep.”

After they left, the room fell quiet again.

Yu Nan lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. Every time he closed his eyes, scenes from the movies they watched today flashed in his mind. No matter how hard he tried not to think about them, they kept appearing.

He was incredibly tired but too scared to sleep. Frustrated, he sat up, deciding to chat with Bei Bei instead.

“Are you asleep, brother Yu?” came Pei Yunchuan’s voice from outside the door. What was he up to in the middle of the night?

When Yu Nan opened the door, he saw Pei Yunchuan sneaking around, about to knock on Bei Yuye’s door.

Pei Yunchuan shouted, “brother Ye! Don’t sleep!”

After a moment, Bei Yuye’s door opened, and a sleepy voice asked, “What are you doing at this hour?”

After speaking, Bei Yuye yawned, but when he noticed Nan Nan standing nearby, he instantly perked up.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet, senior? It’s so late,” he eagerly asked.

“I’m scared and can’t sleep,” Pei Yunchuan said, holding his head in his hands and wailing.

Bei Yuye pushed Pei Yunchuan aside. “I wasn’t asking you.”

Yu Nan was also exhausted. He rubbed his fingers and said, “I’m scared too and not quite ready to sleep.”

Bei Yuye picked up the remote and asked, “Can you sleep with the TV on?”

“I can,” Yu Nan replied.

Pei Yunchuan shook his head, then nodded. “Maybe, but tonight’s different.”

After getting Nan Nan’s confirmation, Bei Yuye turned on the TV, found a cartoon, and turned up the volume.

“We’ll leave the doors open and the living room light on, and each of us will sleep in our rooms,” he suggested.

He then pointed to the living room floor. “Or, we could just camp out here together tonight.”